Loose pulley.



,R. I. FANGHBR.

LOOSE PULLEY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1910.

Patexited Apr. 9

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY.

COLUMIIA will" 00.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROSMAN I. FANCHER, OF BALDWINSVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOFRANK L. FULLER, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

LOOSE PULLEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

Application filed May 3, 1910. Serial No. 559,190.

Loose Pulleys, of which the following, taken; in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in bearings for'loose.pulleys as asso-; ciated with a shaft and a tight pulley with centralcylindrical sockets 5 and mounted thereon.

One of the objects is to support the loosei pulley apart from the shaft,so as to avoid excessive wear or mutilation of said shaft; and at thesame time to form an intervening; oil chamber for the reception andretentionl greater length than the face width of the of a lubricant forthe bearing.

Another object is to provide the loose pul- 1 ley with a removablejournal or central 1 sleeve of considerable length and extending somedistance beyond the ends of the face of the pulley where it is journaled in separate: bearings which are securedto the shaft at;

opposite ends of thesleeve.

A further object is to enlarge the oil chamber substantially midwaybetween its ends, so that the centrifugal force of the lubricant duringthe rotation of the pulley will cause such lubricant to be concentratedfrom the ends toward the center.

A still further object is to provide the oil chamber with a sleeve ofabsorbent material,

- as felt, capable of retaining by saturation a considerable quantity ofthe oil or lubricant and sufiiciently flexible, so as to respond to thecentrifugal force caused by the rotation of the pulley to press againstthe sides of the oil chamber and thereby liberate part of its lubricantby compression of the absorbent material and allow such lubricant topass by capillary attraction to the bearings.

A still further object is to provide suitable oil absorbent rings orwashers at the ends of the bearing sleeve for the loose pulley toprevent the escape of the oil from the bearings.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the followingdescription.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tightand loose pulley and my improved journal bearing for the loose pulley inconnection with a shaft. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken online 2-2, Fig. 1. Fig 3 is an end view of the detached sleeve or journalfor the loose pulley.

In illustrating the operation of my invention, I have shown a shaft 1-upon which is mounted a tight pulley 2 and a coaxial collar -8, saidtight pulley and collar being adjustably secured to the shaft by 5 anysuitable fastening means, as set screws -4:"- The adjacent ends of thehub of the tight pulley -2 and collar 3 are spaced some distance apartand are provided 6 of somewhat greaterdiameter than that of the shaft 1and consisting of bearings for a loose pulley 7. This loose pulley isprovided with a central tubular sleeve or journal -8 of somewhat pulleyto afford as long a hearing as possible and having its ends journaled inthe bearings or sockets 5 and 6,said sleeve being secured to the loosepulley by one or more set screws 9 which when loosened permit the sleeveto be removed and replaced by a new one, if necessary. Theinteriondiameter of the sleeve is somewhat greater than that of theshaft -lto form an intervening oil chamber 10 which in this instancegradually increases in diameter from the ends toward the center, so thatthe diameter of the oil chamber intermediate the ends of the sleeve orjournal is largest, to cause the oil to concentrate from the ends towardthe center under centrifugal force produced by the rotation of thepulley, thereby preventing such oil from' being forced outwardly aroundthe ends of the sleeve by such force. As a further means for preventingthe escape of the oil from the bearings, the ends of the sleeve 8- areprovided with annular recesses -11' in which are inserted flexiblewashers or packing rings 12 of absorbent material capable of absorbingany excessive quantity of oil which may find its way to the ends of thesleeve when the pulley is at rest and at the same time supplying thelubricant to the endthrust bearings as well as to the peripheralbearings, such oil being drawn into the joints or contacting surfaces ofthe bearings by capillary attraction.

Within the oil chamber 10 of the sleeve or journal 8 and surrounding theadjacent portion of the shaft -1 is a flexi-. ble sleeve 13 of absorbentmaterial such as felt which extends from end to end of' said oil chamberand sleeve, for the purpose of absorbing and retaining the greater partof the oil in said chamber. The outer diameter of the absorbent sleeve13 is substantially the same from end to end and adapted to fit intoopposite ends of the oil chamber, leaving its intermediate portion freeto expand into the enlargement of the oil chamber under centrifugalforce produced by the rotation of the pulley. This absorbent sleeve notonly aids in preventing the escape of oil from the bearings, but alsoaflt'ords a more even distribution to such bearings, and at the sametime automatically gives up its oil in proportion to the speed ofrotation of the pulley, by reason of the fact that under such rotationthe central portion of the sleeve is pressed outwardly by centrifugalforce against the walls of the oil chamber, thereby expelling the oiltherefrom and allowing such oil to flow by capillary attraction to thebearings. On the other hand when the pulley is at rest any oil which mayremain in the chamber 10 is readily taken up by the absorbent sleeve l3and also by the absorbent rings 12- and is prevented from escapingthrough the running j ointsof the bearings.

In some instances the absorbent sleeve 13 may be dispensed with and theoil chamber 10 filled with a lubricant which would be prevented fromescaping from the bearings when the pulley is at rest by the, absorbentrings 12, while on the other Copies of this patent may be obtained forfive cents each, by addressing the hand during the rotation of.thepulley the body of oil would be concentrated by centrifugal force fromthe ends into the central enlargement of the oil chamber 10, it beingunderstood that under all conditions a limited quantity of oil would befed by capillary force into the joints of the bearings.

The absorbent sleeve 13 is, however, important in retaining the greaterquantity of the oil and more evenly distributing the same to the endsand peripheral bearings of the sleeve, and at the same time owing to itsflexibility is susceptible to more or less compression against the wallsof the oil chamber by centrifugal force to express the oil therefrom inquantities proportionate to the speed of the pulley.

WVhat I claim is:

In combination with a shaft, a pulley and a collar both tight on theshaft and having their adjacent ends provided with sockets of greaterdiameter than the shaft, a sleeve having its opposite ends journaled inthe sockets and provided with a central opening of greater diameter thanthe shaft forming an oil chamber, a flexible sleeve of absorbentmaterial within the oil chamber, a loose pulley secured to the sleeveand packing rings in the ends of the first named sleeve.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 29th day of April1910.

ROSMAN I. FANCHER. Witnesses:

H. E. OHAsE, A. L. HUMPHREY.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

